Author's Note: So it's been about a week, and now I'm back. This will probably be how it is for a while, a chapter or two a week. Not bad though, right? Anyway, this chapter is part one of "Usual Suspects." Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own none of YJ, only Desmond al Ghul/Marigold.

Chapter Thirty

Revelations

"These five heroes have sworn to uphold those values," came Superman's familiar voice. The team was gathered in the Hall of Justice, watching the inauguration ceremony of five new heroes into the Justice League. The camera panned to Cat Grant.

"Superman is now handing out official League membership cards, starting with Doctor Fate," Zatana became visibly saddened, and Robin put an arm around her. "The Atom, Plastic Man, and Icon." While Desmond had never met these other three heroes, he had heard of their great deeds. Except Plastic Man, who he heard was an ex-criminal.

"Shh, here's Roy!" exclaimed Wally.

"None of us were talking," Desmond pointed out, which prompted another shushing.

"And finally," said Cat Grant. "Green Arrow personally welcomes his ex-sidekick Speedy, now known as Red Arrow, to this roster of heroes." Wally pumped his fist in the air.

"At last he has his wish," noted Kaldur.

"The first of us to make it," said Robin, sounding slightly awestruck. "No one will call him a sidekick anymore." Desmond looked to Artemis, to see if she was upset at all. On the contrary; she seemed almost happy to see Red Arrow joining the League. If it was because of the new truce between the ex-sidekick and the rest of the team, he did not know. Just then there was a loud beeping coming from Robin's wrist. He pulled it up, and his small holographic computer popped up.

"Guys," he said slowly. "I got a lead on Cheshire." The team exchanged looks, looked back at the monitor, and decided there was no time to wait. They made for the Zeta-Tube.

XxXxX

The team neared the Smokey Mountains in the Bio-ship. Robin had pulled up a large holographic image of the security data he had gotten, and Aqualad pointed to something in Cheshire's hand.

"Is that the case you saw in New Orleans?" The question was directed at Artemis, who confirmed it indeed was the high-tech briefcase that was in the backroom of the warehouse with Ivo, Klarion and the rest.

"Approaching Cheshire's jet," stated M'gann suddenly. As the ship got closer, there were a few gasps. The plane hadn't landed, as was initially thought, but had crashed. Desmond saw Artemis look away, and he couldn't blame her. "Looks like there were no survivors."

"We can't be too sure," Desmond said, somewhat trying to reassure Artemis. "We'll get down there and scope things out, but be careful."

When the team was all at the site of the crash, and looking for anything helpful, Wally asked why Homeland Security wasn't here already. Robin informed that it was a League alert, and that Homeland didn't get his intel.

"Then why isn't the League here?" asked Wally.

"Because our boy wonder here has some mighty hacking skills," Zatana said. "And he arranged to get the transmission first."

"And because Cheshire and that case represent our mission," added Aqualad. Superboy and Shifter cleared away most of the wreckage, and then the Kryptonian asked what was on both their minds.

"Where are the bodies?"

"Here's one," came a familiar voice. The team looked, and saw Cheshire standing atop a low cliff. "And it is stunning." Shifter stared hard at the villainess. Suddenly, another, less familiar voice sounded.

"I am flora, not fauna," it said. It was annoying, and sounded whiny. "I am foliage, not trees. What am I?" The team looked further up the cliff. There stood a man dressed in green, who Desmond could only assume was the infamous Riddler. Next to him stood the hulking form of Mammoth, and the slender figure of Shimmer. They were surrounded by several League of Shadows assassins.

Riddler snapped his fingers, and several pylons sprang up from under the thick layer of snow atop the mountains. They all came to life, filling the area with a buzzing sound and projecting some sort of green force field around the surrounding area. "Come on, you can get this," he said, continuing with his riddle. "I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I? I…?" He left it open ended.

"Am bush," Robin finished, and Desmond realized the riddle was a clever use of wordplay. It was true. They had been ambushed.

"Didn't you think we'd be tipped you were on Cheshire's trail?" the Riddler asked. "We're sick of your interference, kiddies. This is the endgame. Ordered from above, and executed by their master strategist… moi."

Miss Martian, is everyone linked? Asked Aqualad.

Yes, replied the Martian.

Go! The team sprang into action. They all split in separate directions. Shifter grabbed the nearest assassin, punched him in the head, then flung him at one of the other assassins. They both slumped to the ground. He grabbed another, and shifted their densities. He phased the assassin half way through the nearest mountain, and left him there.

"Superboy, Shifter, the pylons!" shouted Aqualad. They nodded to the Atlantian leader, and began to get to work. Shifter ran to Superboy, who was rubbing his forearm as if it stung.

"Sixteen," the density shifter said, referencing the pair's favorite maneuver. Superboy rubbed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. He spun Shifter around by the wrist, then flung him to the top of the mountain. Shifter landed near a pylon, and kicked at its base, breaking it in half. He saw Superboy jump up, and rip a pylon out of the ground. Suddenly, Mammoth was upon him. Desmond kicked at the behemoth's stomach, but the chemical-infused monster was too strong. He grabbed Desmond, and flung him away. He landed, with a thud, near Superboy. The Kryptonian didn't notice, and suddenly did something that made Shifter's eyes go wide. He shot lasers out of his eyes, like the Man of Steel would, and burned one of the pylons down.

"Conner!" shouted Shifter above the snow storm Zatana had summoned. "How did you—?" But it was cut off, as Mammoth once again sprang at them. He flung Superboy into another mountain. Shifter rolled out of the way of Mammoth's kick, and quickly dropped to a lower level of the mountain.

He watched as Mammoth leapt at Superboy. But the Boy of Steel was ready, and he jumped at a mid-air Mammoth. The two collided, but instead of falling to the ground, they stayed afloat. Or rather, Superboy stayed afloat. He was flying.

Are you guys seeing this? Desmond mentally called to the others. Superboy is FLYING! Said hero flung Mammoth to the top of the force field, where he collided and then fell to the ground. But the Kryptonian wasn't done. He began shooting his laser vision everywhere, flying along the side of the mountain and taking down everything in his path. His power was so much that the mountainside began to crumble away. Small avalanches began all over the inside of the dome. In all the confusion, Robin managed to take out Shimmer and Riddler.

"Where's Cheshire?" Kaldur asked Artemis, as the Bio-ship full of criminals and heroes alike flew away from the Smokey Mountains.

"I, uh, lost her in the avalanche," Artemis said. But Desmond had a feeling there was more to it than that.

XxXxX

As they sat on the Bio-ship, Desmond's earpiece began to ring. He was confused; anyone who would call him on it was on this ship. He answered it.

"Hello?" he whispered. "Who's there?" A low cackle came out.

"My boy, it is time," came an all too familiar voice. Ra's. Desmond's eyes went wide. He's completely forgotten about the secret meeting at Cape Canaveral, and the agreement they'd made. "No time for questions. You will meet me at the same destination as before. I will have a jet waiting to bring you to the island of Santa Prisca, where you will meet with me. If you tell anyone, your whole team will die by my hand." He hung up, leaving Desmond to hear only his rapid heartbeat. It was time.

XxXxX

Batman had given them all a talking to, but in the end he was happy with the outcome. Though Cheshire had "escaped," Artemis did manage to get the case. It was full of some sort of strange alien technology, which Batman was planning on studying at the Watchtower. Once the Leaguers left, the discussion turned to the day's events.

"You realize we were set up?" Robin clarified.

"Yes," said Kaldur. "Cheshire and Riddler were indeed tipped, and were waiting for us." Desmond sighed heavily.

"Not the mole theory again," he complained. "I mean, come on! Roy's not even here! I mean, do you honestly think M'gann, Artemis, Conner or I would tip them off? They were trying to kill us. Mammoth nearly slaughtered me and Superboy!"

"Yes," Kaldur said, looking at their Kryptonian teammate. "Superboy, your recent behavior has me worried. Your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed in an avalanche." Conner began walking away, but stopped suddenly, gripping the sides of his head. Then, as suddenly as it happened, he stopped, and stood up.

"Conner?" asked Desmond. The Kryptonian teen turned around, his eyes suddenly full of purpose.

"There's something I need to do," he said. He sighed heavily. "There's something I need to tell you. Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to Cadmus. Found a few things out. When I was cloned, only half the DNA was Superman's. The other half was human. That's why I don't have… will never half full Kryptonian powers. What you saw today… I've been using these," he pulled up his arm to reveal a black shape, similar to the Superman Shield. "Shields. They suppress my human DNA. I get the flight, the heat vision… but I think I also get angry. I'm sorry."

"Where did you get those?" asked Kaldur, asking the obvious question.

"From my human father," he said, sounding ashamed. "Lex Luthor." Everyone's eyes went wide.

"Lex Luthor… is your dad?!" asked Robin incredulously. Superboy nodded.

"He's just summoned me to Santa Prisca." Desmond's eyes went wider, if that was possible. Ra's had summoned him to Santa Prisca. What was he doing there with Lex Luthor, and why did they need their sons?

Suddenly, Artemis stepped forward. "Alright, listen…" she said, sounding unsure of what she was doing. "Superboy's not the only one suffering from bad DNA," she moved over to the computer, and pulled up three images. Sportsmaster, Cheshire, and a woman who Desmond knew to be Artemis' mother, the former criminal Huntress. "My mom is Huntress, an ex con. The rest of my family isn't even ex. My dad's… Sportsmaster. And he's sending my sister, Cheshire, to fly me to Santa Prisca too. And I was so desperate to make sure none of you found out. Well, none except—"

"Except me, Conner and Zatana," Desmond interjected. When the others looked at him, full of curiosity, he explained. "The mission with Scarecrow, remember? When he sprayed us with his gas? We all confessed our fears, the four of us, and Artemis' was the rest of the team finding out about her family." The archer nodded.

"And I knew," said Robin suddenly. The others widened their eyes. "Hey, I'm a detective. But it never mattered. You aren't your family. You're one of us." Artemis smiled softly, and Desmond moved next to her, taking her hand.

"So…" said Kid Flash, trying to sound nonchalant. "Who's next?"

"I am," said M'gann quietly. Wally held up his hands.

"I swear I was kidding!" he said, trying to cover it up.

"Queen Bee's been… blackmailing me…" the Martian said. "She wants me on Santa Prisca too. She knows my… true Martian form."

"Bald M'gann? Who cares?" asks Robin. He had told the others the story about a trip to the Logan Farm in Qurac, and about M'gann's true form as a bald Martian. Some cosmetic secret wasn't really enough to make her betray the team, right?

"No…" she said She took a deep breath, and her body began to change. She got taller, and wider. Her skin became paler and paler, until it was a chalky white. Her clothes faded away, and when the transformation was done, their teammate was a hulking white monster. Everyone moved back a few steps.

I knew you'd never accept me if you saw what I really am, she said telepathically. Being a White Martian among the Green on Mars, I endured constant rejection. I couldn't face that from…

"From me?" asked Superboy. He walked forward and took M'gann's white hand. They stared intently into each other's eyes, and Des guessed they were having an intense psychic conversation. Eventually, Conner gently pulled away.

"Alright," said Aqualad. "If that is all, we must formulate a plan to—"

"Sorry," interrupted Desmond. "We've got one more." He knew this was what he needed to do. He sighed heavily, and looked to Artemis, Zatana and Conner. They all nodded in encouragement. Desmond nodded back, and moved to the computer. "When I came here for the first time, in September, I told you my name was Desmond Marigold…" he began typing into the computer. "That's only part true. My real name…" Two images popped on the screen; one of Talia, and one of Ra's. "Is Desmond al Ghul." The team (aside from Z, Conner and Artemis) gave a collective gasp.

"Okay," said Wally, sounding kind of shaky. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Did you figure this one out, detective?" Desmond joked to Robin. But Robin did not laugh, and instead shook his head to answer Desmond's question. The son of the Demon continued. "I've been running from Ra's for years. About a month before I joined the team, Batman found me. He said he knew about my powers, and there was a team that I would fit in with. After some preparations, I came here. And I've been keeping it a secret ever since."

"Then why tell us now?" questioned Aqualad.

"Well, first of all, I'm not telling all of you for the first time," Des clarified. "On the mission with Scarecrow, my fear was that you would find out about Ra's. But about a month ago, he contacted me. Told me to meet him at Cape Canaveral. He's been trying to get me to join him for years now. But this time, he threatened with something too precious to refuse."

"What was it?" asked Artemis. Desmond smiled sadly.

"You," he said. Then realized what he had said. "I mean, not just you. All of you. The entire team. He said if I didn't cooperate, he'd kill you all."

"And you believed him?" asked Wally.

"He'd gotten an assassin into my room," Desmond said. "Without me, Zatana, Conner or M'gann noticing. If he could do that…" Desmond didn't want to think about it. "But now he's asked me to come to Santa Prisca as well." The entire team exchanged looks. Aqualad stepped up.

"We will prepare a strategy," he said. "And we will meet them there. And when it's all over, we will emerge the victors."

So the secret's out, huh? Yep, Desmond came clean to the rest of the team. If I'm being honest, this was my idea all along. He was going to reveal his family when Artemis revealed hers. And since that was in this episode, Desmond's big reveal was as well. Anyway, next chapter will be the climactic confrontation with Ra's on Santa Prisca. Stay tuned; same Desmond time, same Desmond channel!